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Post A Picture: “Big Shrimping”

My husband and I recently visited Bayou La Batre, Al, a quaint picturesque town that has been home to shrimp boats and hard-working folks for generations. These enduring people who turned their passion into a multimillion dollar business have now been featured on the History Channel’s new reality show, “Big Shrimpin”.

As my husband and I wandered around the bayou docks, a colorful menagerie of shrimp boats, deck hands, workers, and creatures of the sea like brown pelicans, sea gulls and ducks appeared before our eyes. It was more than a picture of a place, it was a picture of a special group of people who have built their life around the bayou. A group of people who have devoted their time and skill to a demanding business, yet take the time to talk to strangers just as if they were family. My husband and I are not part of that special group, yet we were greeted by all as if we were old friends that had come to visit. I hope this piece about Bayou La Batre and it’s people will give you a little insight into a unique seaside town that beams with pride and congeniality.

In the first three pictures below, you will see three of the six boats featured in the show, Miss Hannah, Miss Ashleigh and Miss Barbara. Dominick Ficarino, owner of the six shrimp boats and one of the largest seafood processing plants in Bayou La Batre, Dominick’s Seafood, has now commissioned Williams Fabrications to build a new 2.5 million 105 foot boat even better than the “Miss Hannah”.

Although the last episode of “Big Shrimpin’ ” will air on January 5, 2012, we hope there will be more episodes to come and we all get a chance to see the new 105 foot shrimp boat now under construction. Dominick did not mention the name of his new boat but maybe we can all guess what it might be.